Friends of the Earth Angered by Approval of Heathrow Expansion Plan

Andrew Pendleton – Head of Campaigns at Friends of the Earth – who lives under the flightpath in London has responded to the news that the government has approved Heathrow Airport expansion plans.

His comment can be viewed below:

“Expanding Heathrow would be a hugely damaging blow for local people, and makes a complete mockery of government commitments to tackle climate change.

Local communities now face more noise, more air pollution and more misery from a quarter of a million extra flights each year.

“With the government poised to sign the Paris climate agreement, the decision to expand Heathrow – shortly after forcing fracking on the people of Lancashire – looks deeply cynical.

“However this is only the first step on a long journey that will see communities, councils and climate campaigners continue the battle to reverse this misjudged and damaging decision.”

Nic Ferriday of West London Friends of the Earth also commented:

“A third runway will mean an extra quarter of a million flights a year and will make noise and air pollution levels intolerable, unacceptable and probably illegal.

“But those of us on the ground left to suffer the consequences of Heathrow expansion also care about the impact that so many more flights will have on climate change. We will fight it every step of the way.”

• Aviation makes up nearly 7% of the UK’s overall carbon emissions. Airport expansion is incompatible with reaching the Paris Agreement goal of keeping warming below 1.5 degrees
• The case for airport expansion is very weak. Taken together, London’s five airports already serve more destinations than any other European city
• 15% of the UK population take about 70% of all flights. Friends of the Earth backs proposals for a frequent flyer levy to replace Air Passenger Duty.